For the three major religions of the world the Dome of the Rock holds profound meaning. The area is steeped in religion, traversed by many of the Holy Prophets of God, revered by all three faiths. Yet therein lies the rub, for coveted by the three faiths, it could be the flash point for a major world conflict.
The Muslims hold the mosque as the third most sacred in the world and hold that the place should remain accessible to all who observe the sanctity of the two mosques, Some scholars believe on historical evidence that Solomon's temple never stood at this place (as the Jews believe) but was located on another mound south of the Dome of the Rock.
For Jews, however, the Dome of the Rock mosque stands over the site of the original two temples. Also engrained is the belief that the Jewish nation is in exile because their temple is in ruins and that redemption lies in the rebuilding of the temple, even if that means demolishing the mosque. Some rabbis urge Israel to take complete control of the Temple Mount, demolishing the mosques and rebuilding the third temple in their place.
The third temple is a vital goal of Judaism necessary for the restoration of the sacrificial cult (rabbi Isidore Epstein) and according to him "elaborate plans and designs for the third temple" have already been made, complete with the objects necessary for the sacrifice and the altars required. Some Judeo Christians considers rebuilding the third temple as the key to the return of Jesus.
These differing beliefs and views have their resonance in current events. For example, in September 2000, when Ariel Sharon right wing Likud leader visited the Dome of the Rock violent protests erupted by the Arabs. This spreading unrest came to be known as the Al Aqsa uprising.
The Arabs viewed the visit to the Al Aqsa as a deliberate provocation and an attempt to assert Israeli sovereignty over the Muslim sites. In 2001 July, violence erupted on the Haram al-Sharif when an angry crowd of Palestinian Muslims began throwing stones down on Jewish worshippers at the Western wall which abuts the Muslim holy sites. The Palestinians were angry at an attempt by an extreme messianic Jewish group " Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful" to lay a cornerstone for the third Jewish temple. Israeli authorities had denied the faithful a permit to lay the cornerstone on the site itself but had allowed them to perform the ceremony just outside a gate entrance to the Old City ignoring warnings from Arab leaders that the act would be a provocation no matter where it was performed.
In the Road map to Peace proposed by the United States of America, one short sentence deals with this important issue which, though has not yet come to the front of the news in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, remains central to the entire situation. About the status of Jerusalem in Phrase 3 , the Roadmap desires that the parties reach, " a negotiated resolution on the status of Jerusalem that takes into account the political and religious concerns of both sides and protects the religious interests of the Jews, Christians and Muslims world-wide and fulfils the vision of two states, Israel and a sovereign independent democratic and visible Palestine, living side -by -side in peace and security." A peace settlement such as the Road map to Peace ultimately will be impossible without an agreement over who has control of this area called the Temple Mount. The peace talks between President Clinton, Chairman Arafat of Palestine and Prime Minister Barak of Israel at Camp David, in 2000, broke down over this specific issue of the control of the Haram.
The Al-Haram as-Sharif or the Noble Sanctuary is at the heart of Jerusalem spanning over 35 acres of land containing fountains, gardens, buildings and domes. At its southernmost end is the Al-Aqsa Mosque and at its center, the celebrated Dome of the Rock. The entire area is regarded as a mosque and comprises nearly one sixth of the walled city of Jerusalem. The third most important site in Islam after Makkah and Madina, it is a showcase of Islamic architecture and design from the Umayyad to Ottoman times. It continues as an important religious and educational center for Muslims to the present day.
The Dome of the Rock, the oldest Muslim building which has survived basically intact in its original form, was built by the ninth Caliph Abd al-Malik and completed in 691 CE.
The building encloses a huge Rock located at its centre, from which the Holy Prophet (sws) ascended to heaven during his Night Journey.
In the Qur'an , the Surah, entitled 'The Night Journey', refers to the journey:
"Glory be to He Who carried His servant by night, from the Holy Mosque to the Furtherest Mosque, whose precincts We have blessed.
so that We might show him some of Our signs Surely He is the All- Hearing, the All-Seeing."
The two mosques mentioned in this verse are in Makkah and Jerusalem.
In the ninth year of his mission, the Holy Prophet (sws) was awoken from his slumber by the Archangel Gabriel, after he had fallen asleep after a time of worship near the holy Kaaba. The angel led the Holy Prophet (sws) to the edge of the sacred Mosque. Awaiting them was al-Buraq, a white winged beast "whose each stride was as far as the eye could see". With brief stops at Mt. Sinai and Bethlehem they finally alighted at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the Holy Prophet (sws) prayed near the rock while the other Prophets Hazrat Abraham, Hazrat Moosa, Hazrat Isa (AS) all gathered to pray behind him. Hazrat Gabriel then escorted Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) to the pinnacle of the Rock, called As- Sakhra, from where he ascended through the seven heavens into the presence of Allah. During this ascent he received the command to pray five times a day. And the revelation encapsulating the beliefs of Islam:
"The Messenger believes in what was sent down to him from his Lord . And the believers; each one believes in Allah and His Angles and in His books and His messengers. We make no division between any one of His messengers. And they say: We hear and we obey. Oh Lord, grant us Thy Forgiveness; unto Thee we return" Qur'an 2/285 Jerusalem became known as Al Quds, the holy. Many of the Holy Prophet's (sws) Companions travelled to worship at the blessed spot to which the Holy Prophet (sws) was brought by night and from which he ascended to his Lord.
Muslims consider the entire area of the Noble Sanctuary as sacred, dedicated for use as a masjid since the dawn of mankind in recognition of its tremendous prophetic heritage. It was the land which was the legacy of so many holy prophets from the time of Hazrat Ibrahim and his son Hazrat Isaac and after his son Hazrat Yaqub and Hazrat Yusuf to that of Hazrat Musa whose followers disobedience caused the loss of the lost the holy Land. It was the birthplace of Hazrat Isa (A.S) and he, like the other prophets, dwelt and preached here and their noble remains are contained therein. The soil of the Holy Land is mixed with their noble blood. It was perhaps for that reason that the first qibla or direction of prayer, revealed to the Holy Prophet(sws) was towards Jerusalem and that he ascended to the Heavens, to His Lord, from here.
The traditions of the blessed Prophet Muhammad (SAW) relate that after the sacred Mosque in Makkah which was the First Mosque, the second mosque was the Al Aqsa in Jerusalem with a forty years interval between them.
According to Muslim tradition, Hazrat Yaqub, the grandson of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) was the first builder of a mosque in the site of al Haram al Sharif in Jerusalem. Hazrat Isaac advised his son not to marry from the Canaanites but seek his spouse from amongst the family of his maternal uncle. When Hazrat Yaqub (AS) reached the site now known al-Haram al- Sharif, he felt exhausted and needed to rest. he lay down and rested his head on a stone. During his sleep he saw as if there was a column of smoke arising from this place and reaching the gates of Heaven. Disturbed and awakened, Hazrat Yaqub was commanded by revelation to build a mosque at the same site. So the interval between the building of the Holy Kaaba by Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) and Hazrat Ishmael (AS) and that of the Aqsa mosque was of forty years.
By the time of the conquest of Jerusalem by Hazrat David there was no trace of the prayer house erected by Hazrat Yaqub and thus Hazrat Daud (AS) was widely credited as the founder of the Aqsa mosque which was completed on the great grave of "your father Ibrahim". Next time he was advised to dismount and pray: and was told : "you have prayed on the birth-place of your brother Jesus!"
In the Jewish tradition, the Rock in the Dome of the Rock is the Foundation Stone upon which the world was created. According to Jewish sources, in the Early Bronze Age (3000 BC), a town is said to have existed on the south side of Mount Moriah, also called Temple Mount, called Urusalim, or 'Foundation of God'. About
1000 BC, Urusalim, under David ( Hazrat Daud ), the founder of the joint kingdom of Israel and Judah became the Jewish kingdom's capital. Hazrart Daud renamed his city Jerusalem, meaning 'City of Peace' in Hebrew, and chose Mt. Moriah as the site of his future temple.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
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